Hi everyone! I just brought my dog, Bruce, home from his ACL surgery (tplo). It's sort of overwhelming! I'm wondering if anyone had any general advice as we begin our journey into healing and rehabilitation. Has anyone used arnica post surgery? Any recommendation on a good joint supplement? I'm so worried about my boy.

My dog has had 4 knee surgeries (yes, 4... don't ask.)I would highly HIGHLY recommend going for physio if there is any kind of canine physio clinic nearby. The exercises and range of motion stretches they'll show you are very helpful, and if they have an underwater treadmill, do it! That has helped my dog immensely.

For pain relief, my dog gets Deramaxx every day (has done for years now, and we do annual blood tests to check that everything is fine. it's fine!). Also, she gets a green lipped mussel supplement, which seems to help with her mobility.

We did cartrophen injections for a while, but didn't notice any difference. Many people have excellent results though.

Keeping your boy calm/still will be the biggest challenge, as he'll start to feel better a lot earlier than he should be running around. Brain games, treat dispensing toys, kongs, etc are fantastic. Also, make sure you keep him lean! My dog usually weighs 48lbs, but if she gets up to 50lbs her mobility is hugely compromised.

Thank you! This is our 6th day post op and most of the swelling and bruising had gone away and he's definitely feeling better than he should be. He's already putting weight on it and I was doing the dishes today and he started poking me in the butt with a toy trying to evoke a game of chase. I can't imagine trying to keep him calm for another 11 weeks!

that's the hardest part!keeping them still is hard once they start feeling a little better. I had leashes tethered to things all over the house, and used crates/xpens as much as I could too. Also had to hide all the balls in the house (my dog is very ball driven!) and had dining chairs stacked all over the couches to stop her from jumping up.glad your boy is doing well though. Good luck with the rest of the recovery